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Monday 22 March 2004

The World Today is a comprehensive current affairs program which backgrounds, analyses, interprets and encourages debate on events and issues of interest and importance to all Australians. Below is the program summary with links to transcripts and audio (if available).

Steve Mortimer quits as Bulldogs CEO

Chief Executive of the Canterbury Bulldogs, Steve Mortimer, has just announced he is quitting his post with the rugby league team. The Bulldogs have been the centre of investigations into allegations of gang rape at a Coffs Harbour resort several weeks ago. His resignation comes only days after the sacking of the team's long-serving manager Garry Hughes.

Maritime security review leaves industry bemused

The announcement of a new review of maritime security has left the industry a little bemused. Port and shipping operators say they've been struggling to complete their security plans in time for the looming July the 1st deadline for the international maritime security regime. Under that regime, Australian operators who fail to comply with anti-terrorism guidelines will be banned from docking in overseas ports. And now, Australian port operators say they're not sure what the new maritime security review will mean for them.

AIG survey of Australian manufacturing

Labor attacks Govt over Brigitte claims

The Federal Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, is concerned that details of the interrogation of French terror suspect, Willie Brigitte, by French counter-terrorism officials keep on appearing in the media. For its part, the Government is highlighting instead a national counter-terrorism exercise, as well as a review of security at Australian ports. But the Opposition is using new claims about Brigitte's time in Australia, before he was deported in October, to try to weaken the Government's credibility on national security.

ACTU says economic conditions right for pay rise

Trade Unions have begun their campaign for a wage rise of almost $27 a week for low paid workers, claiming economic conditions in Australia are good enough to support a significant increase. The ACTU's latest 'living wage' case began in the Industrial Relations Commission in Melbourne this morning, and with the union movement declaring its claim is not an ambit one. Employer groups say it's an excessive amount, claiming $10 a week is all that businesses can afford.

China-Taiwan relations to suffer after Chen re-election

Following angry scenes in Taiwan overnight, as thousands of voters called for a recount after the re-election of the country's President, Chen Shui-bian, there's been a muted official response from Mainland China about the election result. It says it's "monitoring the situation". The re-election of President Chen Shui-bian will be no cause for celebration in Beijing and elsewhere in the mainland, and it's likely to trigger an escalation in the already difficult relationship between the two countries.

Dinky the singing dingo

Australia has had its share of famous animals - Phar Lap the horse, Skippy the kangaroo and Sweetheart the Crocodile, and this week, Australia's only singing dingo is set to become an Australian icon, thanks to the game of Trivial Pursuit. Three-year old Dinky the dingo lives at remote Stuart Well, 90 kilometres south of Alice Springs, where he spends his days entertaining tourists with his doggy renditions on the piano.

Former ports exec says all containers could by X-rayed for $100 million

A former executive of the maritime industry says there is a cost-effective way to lift maritime security and prevent terrorism. Andrew Burgess, a former director of the big stevedoring and shipping company, P&O, says all containers could be X-rayed for as little as $100 million a year. A drop in the ocean compared to the total value of cargo transported. Now a director of homeland security, which is advocating the X-ray plan, Andrew Burgess, is puzzled at the lack of action.

Muslim cleric visits to promote multi-faith communication

One of the clear aims of al-Qaeda, in promoting its ideology of hate, has been to provoke hostility between people in the West and people in the Muslim world. But there are also those who are trying to achieve the exact opposite, and they include the prominent American Muslim leader, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. Imam Feisal is the founder of the Cordoba initiative, a multi-faith effort to increase communication and tolerance between Islam and America. He's currently on a two-week visit to Australia.

Rising Aussie dollar threatens wine industry

Is the rising Australian dollar bringing an end to the dream run of the Australian wine industry? Last year saw a large number of mergers and acquisitions between the big players and the medium-sized wineries. However, this year there's been noticeably less activity. The rising dollar is not only cutting into the industry's profits, it's also putting pressure on grape growers, with some receiving only a third of the prices they were getting for the same product last year.

Keelty appeals for unity in fight against terrorism

Australian Federal Police Commissioner, Mick Keelty, faced the media again this morning, with an appeal for unity in the fight against terrorism. At a security conference in Sydney today, Commissioner Keelty spoke about how Australia should address the terrorists it faces in its own region. Notable for its omission, however, was any mention of his views about the threat posed by Australia's involvement in the war in Iraq, which last week earned the Police Commissioner a rebuke from the Federal Government.